Alabama

Updated on September 15, 2016 at 8:05 AMPosted on September 15, 2016 at 7:00 AM

Trevor Knight

Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight (8) passes down field against Prairie View A&M during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Craft)
(Sam Craft)

Kevin Steele knows his defense will have its hands full on Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Just how tough will its job be against No. 17 Texas A&M's offense? In a word: monumental.

"This is a monumental challenge because it's in the SEC," Steele said Wednesday.

The Tigers open up conference play against the Aggies with a 6 p.m. kickoff on ESPN this Saturday. Both teams are coming off big wins, with Texas A&M throttling Prairie View, 67-0, in Week 2.

Auburn's defense, meanwhile, is coming off a trouncing of Arkansas State. Steele's defense, for the most part, played well and did "a lot of good things" against the Red Wolves. The Aggies will be another story, however.

Texas A&M is first in the SEC in scoring (49 points per game) and total offense (557 yards per game), third in rushing offense (240 yards per game) and second in passing offense (317 yards per game). The Aggies also lead the league in long plays from scrimmage, with 38 plays of at least 10 yards so far this season.

Steele broke down each position within Texas A&M's spread attack and remarked on the different challenges the Aggies present not just at each spot, but as an offense altogether compared to Auburn's first two opponents, Clemson and Arkansas State.

"This is a little different offense," Steele said. "This offense is four-wide-based, not three-wide-based, so it's a little bit different in terms of the presentation of what they do and how they do it. And that, obviously, there's additional speed on the field.... They're a big, what we call an RPO team -- run-pass option -- so they'll give a play-action fake and have routes on one side and a screen on the other. And you've got to be able to execute to the right, to the left and be sound in the middle."

The Tigers' first-year coordinator lauded Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight, who he previously saw in the 2014 Sugar Bowl when Knight was at Oklahoma and Steele was on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama. During that game, which Oklahoma won 45-31, Knight completed 32 of 44 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns.

Through two games this year, Knight has completed 43 of 79 passes for 583 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions while adding another 109 yards and three scores on the ground, though he has completed just 34 percent of passes of 10 or more yards, according to Pro Football Focus. Deep passes have been one of the few weaknesses of Auburn's defense so far this year, which Steele said is "unacceptable."

With what Steele described as a "massive" offensive line up front and a multitude of players at the skill positions, including receivers Christian Kirk, Josh Reynolds and Ricky Seals-Jones, Knight has plenty of weapons around him to make coach Kevin Sumlin and offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone's offense a formidable one.

"The challenge is going to be huge," Steele said. "It's a huge challenge, but hey, that's why we play in the SEC."